Capgemini Europe

Capgemini is a global consultancy engaged in information
technology, management consulting, outsourcing and professional
services. Headquartered in Paris, it employs over 92,000
people through offices in over 30 countries. The company's
clients are active in the automotive, consumer products,
distribution, energy, chemicals, financial services, health care,
life sciences, manufacturing, retail, media and telecoms
industries, as well as the public sector.

The company underwent something of a shift in identity in April
2009, creating a new strategic business unit known as Capgemini
Consulting, a move that brought all of its worldwide strategy and
transformation operations consulting operations under one banner,
and installed the company as the largest European consulting outfit
at a stroke. The Capgemini Consulting unit employs over 4,000
consultants worldwide and contributes some 8 percent of total
revenue. Headquartered in London, Capgemini Consulting is headed by
Pierre Yves-Cros, and has three practice areas, each dedicated to
business transformation: strategy and transformation, operations
transformation (which includes marketing, sales and service,
finance and employee transformation, and supply chain management),
and technology transformation (where services include
"technovision," accelerated IT restructuring and consulting for
CIOs). According to the company, this new structure allows it
to better utilize its global standing to benefit clients through
sharing of best practices and experience across the company.

Names, more names and acquisitions

Capgemini was founded by Serge Kampf in 1967 as Sogeti, a boutique
provider of IT services targeting only local French markets.
It was too successful to maintain a low profile for long, however,
and by 1975, with the acquisitions of the larger companies CAP and
Gemini Computer Systems, the company had a presence in 21
countries. Kampf toyed a bit with the corporate name, working
for a while as Cap Gemini Sogeti, then opting for Cap Gemini.
The company merged with the consulting unit of Ernst & Young in
an $11 billion megadeal in 2000 and, apparently abandoning the
earlier lessons of superfluous nomenclature, became Cap Gemini
Ernst & Young. This was short-lived, though, as a 2004
rebranding not only shortened, but compressed the name to
Capgemini.

While the company may have settled on its new slim-line branding,
its taste for monster-sized acquisitions hasn't abated; in 2007, it
paid $1.2 billion for Kanbay International, a global IT services
outfit with a significant foothold in India. That market has
been the focus of increased attention by Capgemini in recent years,
as the company has sought to establish its footprint, and a
significant outsourcing presence, in the country. The focus
is an understandable one, as around 37 per cent of the company's
revenue is generated through outsourcing. Capgemini's
technology unit is its largest component, meanwhile, contributing
almost 40 per cent of revenue.

The right stuff

Through its business divisions around the world, Capgemini can
legitimately claim to have a consulting empire on which the sun
never sets. That's something it puts to good use through its
Rightshore global delivery model, utilizing its network of
international centers to provide specialist services around the
clock for accelerated delivery, applications management service,
business process outsourcing and infrastructure management.
The model provides cost benefits for clients as well, translating
into savings the lower cost of doing business in markets such as
India, China and Eastern Europe. The company is investing
heavily in the method as well, with plans to increase the number of
employees it has in India to 40,000 by the end of 2010. This
will result in Capgemini having more employees in India than in any
other country, making up 40 per cent of its total workforce.

THE LATEST ON CAPGEMINI

Culling talent
July 2009

In a move to further the company's global expansion and
established expertise, Capgemini announced the recruitment of
Ranjan Tayal as vice president and head of its India
practices. Tayal came from among the top brass at troubled
Satyam, where he operated as VP and business head for India and
South Asia, and was reportedly responsible for 4 per cent of
Satyam's revenue over the past four years.

Bench-pressing the EU
July 2009

The European Commission extended its contract with Capgemini
Consulting (through Cap's Nederland B.V. practice) to provide
eGovernment supply-side benchmarking to the EU. Previously,
the company had operated on a seven-year contract with the
commission to conduct benchmark studies, which surveyed the effects
of eGovernment online services to transform the public sectors of
EU member states. The new agreement extends that contract by
another four years.

Moving into Romania
June 2009

The firm opened a new outsourcing centre in the Romanian town of
Iasi. Part of the company's plan to expand its outsourcing presence
throughout Eastern Europe, the new centre is situated in one of
Romania's largest University towns, giving Capgemini easy access to
a deep pool of qualified and (ideally) skilled labour. Initially,
the centre will offer service desk support for Capgemini clients,
although where those clients may be (and hence the languages
required) was unclear.

Energy expertise
January 2009

A Capgemini study highlighted the problems facing the long-term
implementation of renewable energy into national energy
grids. According to the report, many utilities companies are
being put off by the complex integration of large-scale wind farms
and their variable power loads, hampering the development of green
energy projects.

Also in the energy field, a November 2008 Capgemini report
provided a startling assessment of the state of the U.K.'s energy
production. The report claimed that, without significant
increases in investment in power generation in the next decade, the
country will not be able to meet demand for power. What's
holding it back? The paper blamed dwindling North Sea gas
reserves, a move toward less effective renewable technology and the
closure of around one quarter of the country's energy plant
capacity.

Opening the Czech book
November 2008

In a move that reinforced its position in the emerging Eastern
European market, Capgemini entered into an agreement to buy Czech
IT services and consulting company Empire. The buyout, which
includes a majority stake in Empire's subsidiary Sophia Solutions,
a local business intelligence and data warehouse expert,
significantly increases Capgemini's client base in the Czech
Republic. Among those new clients are some of the leading
players amongst the financial services and telecom industries, as
well as several major Czech public-sector institutions.

Heading for the clouds
November 2008

Recognizing a trend that seems likely to become a standard of
business life in future years, Capgemini added a new option to its
suite of IT consultancy options in November 2008: cloud
computing. Not that it's going to be doing anything like
hosting software, running data processing or storing clients' data
itself, the company's UK wing signed an outsourcing deal for all of
that with Amazon Web Services, a subsidiary of retailer
Amazon.com.

Capgemini's role in the cloud sphere will be limited initially to
a new cloud computing center of excellence, which will be staffed
with a team of Amazon Web Services-trained professionals.
Located in North America, Europe and India, they will help
Capgemini's clients evaluate and implement the appropriate web
service offerings. Those, meanwhile, will initially come in
three major areas of technology: Microsoft Sharepoint in the cloud,
Oracle ERP in the cloud and cloud-based development and testing of
applications.

Public-sector success
October 2008

In the UK, Capgemini was chosen to carry out operational service
and IT improvements by West Sussex Council. The aim of the
project is ultimately to find cost savings for the council that can
be passed on to residents in the form of reduced council tax
bills.

The company won a similar contract from Dorset County Council in
August 2008, while in April of that year London's Croydon Council
signed a five-year contract extension with Capgemini to continue
the ongoing transformation of its local government services.
The longest running private finance initiative agreement of its
kind in the UK, the five-year extension is worth Â£83 million and
covers IT and telecommunications support, which Capgemini has
provided for the council since 2003.

Going Dutch
July 2008

Capgemini announced a â'¬255 million deal to purchase Getronics
PinkRoccade Business Application Services BV, a division of
Getronics PinkRoccade. The company is one of the top IT
services providers in the Dutch public sector, offering solutions
that address the entire applications life cycle, from applications
management consulting to project development, integration and
implementation. Its clients include planning agencies, state
administrations and social security bodies, plus insurance and
banking corporations outside of the public sector.

Shuffling the exec deck
May 2008

The company unveiled Olivier Picard as its new development
director. Picard joined the company from Alcatel Lucent,
where he had served as a member of the executive committee, leading
the Europe and South region as president. His appointment is
the latest in a string of senior-level appointments at Capgemini in
recent years. In February 2007, for example, the company named
Lanny Cohen as CEO of the North American project and consulting
operations. Cohen's predecessor, Salil Parekh, became
executive chairman of Capgemini India, taking on responsibility
both for overseeing growth in the region and for smoothing the
transition following the Kanbay International acquisition.
Another change in 2007 was the appointment of Henk Broeders as head
of Asia Pacific and Continental Europe, which covers Benelux,
Scandinavia, Germany, Italy and Eastern Europe.

Applying some (Uni)leverage
April 2008

Capgemini extended its contract with Unilever to acquire and
manage the company's financial centres in Chile and Brazil.
The deal increases the consultancy's outsourcing foothold in South
America, following the opening of its first centre in Buenos Aires
in November 2007, and will see 400 professionals from Unilever come
into the Capgemini fold.

Where it falls down

Sources are unimpressed with the remuneration packages on offer at
Capgemini, with many citing it as one of the main downsides of the
company. To make matters worse, they expect 2009's bonus
packages to be less than healthy due to the faltering
economy. Perks aren't raved about either, with one consultant
describing them as "nothing out of the ordinary". Laptops,
mobile phone compensation, company cars at a favorable lease, gym
membership, restaurant tickets, health and life insurance, and
broadband at home are some of the benefits respondents
mention. New mothers also get "90 per cent pay on maternity
leave for at least six months", and those who near burnout can opt
for "career breaks" or buy more holiday if they want.

Focusing on the positive, the consultancy does offer a "great
social life", sources say, and puts on a lot of events. "I
have played in two UK versus France company rugby matches, one in
Paris and one in Biarritz. These provided a great networking
opportunity and were fully paid for by the company," explains a
respondent. In Norway, the company provides "cabins in the
mountains" for its staff to use, and every quarter, the firm holds
what are known as "Gold Wings awards to recognize project
deliveries and exceptional work", which are described as "very
encouraging". And of course, if you like your fruit, you'll
fit in at Capgemini, as the company has it delivered fresh to the
office door every morning. Capgemini also supports a number of
charities, including the Prince's Trust, in the UK and the Naandi
Foundation.

Pushing a coaching culture

Respondents also report that Capgemini has a "large training
budget per employee", as well as its own university and academy
where official training takes place. The firm "actively
encourages as much training as is possible, without interfering
with client commitments". Every staffer has between eight to
10 days allocated to official training per year, from an "extensive
training curriculum". We're also told that the "corporate
training facility in Paris is first class".

Sources feel Capgemini promotes a "great feedback and coaching
culture", made possible through "mentoring and on-the-job training"
by means of a "dedicated coach". They describe their
supervisors as "very approachable", "very accessible and hands on"
more so than at competitor companies, insiders argue. "I feel
like we are one family, where no conversation is taboo and everyone
has time for you if needed," states a London-based
consultant.

No panic, yet

There is a "sense of realism, rather than pessimism, pressure or
panic", when it comes to Capgemini's chances of coming through the
recession unscathed. The London office is particularly
confident in its ability to keep revenue up, due to the large
amount of public-sector work it carries out. "We seem well
placed, partly due to the amount of government work we have," says
a consultant there. Across the Channel, consultants are also
quietly confident, saying the outlook is "OK, due to the strong
relationship with clients and the broad expertise on a large scale
of sectors not deeply impacted by the crisis, such as energy,
utilities and life science". Others are not so
optimistic. "Business is still strong, but sales
opportunities are decreasing rapidly, employee morale is moderate,
but fear of losing your job is increasing," an insider in Utrecht
reports, while a colleague in Frankfurt states, "We will need to
adapt and lay off some people if the situation does not
change. Even new methodologies, tools or topics will not help
if industry is not willing to spend money for consulting."
And respondents tell us that the Stockholm office has stopped
rehiring when people leave.

Across the board, consultants agree that one of the main problems
the company faces is that it "is still perceived as an IT company",
and less of a management and strategy shop. In the strategy
arena, insiders admit to "witnessing a general decline in capacity
over time", and believe that, in this field, the firm will have "to
fight an uphill battle against stronger brands".

Better than the norm

"Where are the women partners?" asks a Paris-based source.
We're there is no discrimination when it comes to hiring women, and
"female consultants are regarded in the same way as male
consultants" at the company. That said, it continues to be a
"very male" consultancy, more so than other consulting firms I have
worked in", says a staffer, and the "policy doesn't seem to be
aimed at promoting more participation". "There are special
events on international women's day, special forums for women and
the like, but nobody, especially the women, really cares about it,"
a source claims. Even the Stockholm office, which has a good
gender split lower down the ranks, and a female country manager to
boot, only has a 20:80 ratio of women to men at partner
level. Most other offices, we're told, have lower
proportions.

The spread of minorities throughout the consultancy depends on the
office in which you are based. In Utrecht, we're told that
for "a consulting firm, the diversity in minorities is probably
about right, but for a modern firm, it is quite low". In
fact, that office is described at "mostly white". The same
goes for the Paris office, where there is little minority
representation, according to insiders. And while sources
claim the company is "very receptive to minorities", it takes a
"fair approach to equality and doesn't positively discriminate just
to try and meet targets". The London office, however, is a
different animal and the makeup of the office staff "seems
representative of London as a whole". "We are hugely
multicultural, with 19 languages between the 35 of us," says one
consultant. But there are still fewer minorities in the
management ranks, we're told.

The same cannot be said for GLBT employees, who have attained
positions at the "most senior level" of the firm, and consultants'
sexual preferences are not an issue at Capgemini. One insider
tells of a transgender, former colleague and describes the support
they received from top management as "absolutely first class".